ISLAMABAD, Dec 7: Rehmat Aziz Chitrali was honoured by Journalists Foundation Pakistan with a gold medal and pride of the nation award at a ceremony at the Rawalpindi Arts Council On December 6, 2014.
The 44-year-old is a poet, writer, linguist and researcher renowned not just in his native Chitral district but across the country for his work for the promotion of local languages, particularly Khowar, his mother tongue.
Aziz has also developed a software that can be used to type in as many as 40 local languages, including Shina, Balti, Pashto, Kohistani, Damairi, Gojari, Dari, Ormuri, Yalolah, Hindko, Potohari and Torwali among others. Khan earlier developed a keyboard for Khowar.]]>
I had an opportunity to watch Mr. Aziz on a TV show hosted by a so-called Chitrali lady who herself has very little knowledge of Chitrali culture and possesses not even basic communication skills in Khowar. The poetry Mr. Aziz presented made me laugh loudly. I thought if this was the best he could do, he should quit poetry right that moment.
I believe Mr. Aziz is in love with himself and his poetry , which by no means meets standard of poetry and is dedicated to himself.
My friend Hakim has pointed out something very important. I also watched that programme hosted by the woman who does not even know how to speak Khowar. She had no idea of Chitrali culture. She had no sense whom she should invite to the programme.
So as a guest to speak on Khow culture, this award-winning gentleman presented his own poetry or Kalaam-i-Rehamat Aziz Chitrali. Honestly speaking, I was astonished to see him projecting himself as Zakir Muhammad Zakhmi, Afzalullah Afzal or the young Azhar Ali Azhar, etc but he was proud of his poetry – little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
I think this was the time he thought he should have applied for the award which he just received from an unknown organization. The interesting thing of the programme in which he participated was that a Chitrali girl called from Chitral to give her opinion. She said nothing but kept on laughing and laughing for about two minutes over the poetry the award winning poet was reciting.
Some days back, two Chitralis living in Islamabad graced the programme with their ‘Kalaams’ and paying tribute to Gul Nawaz Khaki. The soul of poor Gul Nawaz Khaki must have cried the way they presented their Kalaam.
The only thing for which some Chitralis tune to the programme is the way the anchor acts in her bid to appreciate all the “poets”, so-called scholars and politicians in her Punjabi style. She does not know how to talk in Khowar, how to dress up, how to sit and how to present a cultural show as she is not well versed with the cultural norms of Chitral.
Honouring an unknown poet, a so-called researcher, linguist by Journalists Foundation Pakistan has forced me to believe that it must be a dubious organization. Just to set the record straight, I would like to say Rehmat Aziz has no contribution to Khowar literature. And the self-proclaimed poet should know that becoming a poet is not like becoming a plumber or a mason. It is a God-gifted quality and you should have the instincts of a poet. A man who could be seen wearing tie/pantaloon throughout his appearance in dummy TV channels claims to be the ambassador but he must stop making fun of Chitral and its rich culture. He has neither studied science nor knows anything about computer but claims to be a scientists and to develop a software for typing local languages. His claim of developing a keyboard is no different than Agha Waqar who staged a similar drama to have invented a ‘water kit’ enabling any car to run on water alone.